It seems every city has a coffee shop with that name or something close to it… but the daily grind means more than just a cup of coffee. I am sure all of us have at one time or another had someone say to us at the end of the weekend, “back to the grind tomorrow.”

I had someone say that to me last Sunday. As a great weekend was winding down, I stopped by a well know local market in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego where we live to pick up a few items and went to the check out line. This store has yet to add a self check out line, and likely never will, a topic for another day.

The checkout person was an affable local guy who was very pleasant, asked about the weekend, we chatted, had some common ground, and then he said, “back to the grind tomorrow?” I know it was just an expression and meant nothing more than what is typically a Monday verses Sunday and back to the routine type comment. I responded with a smile, “Well, sort of, not so much a grind luckily.” He gave a knowing nod that local surfers seem to have and said, “Cool.”

But it got me thinking about a few things. First, that I do not see Monday through Friday as a grind. Second, that did not happen by luck. Far from it. It took several things for Monday through Friday to not be a “grind.” Serious planning and a vision for Monday through Friday, discipline, commitment, clarity, delegation, continuous learning and support from many, some obvious and some not so obvious. The other thought was that for many it is a grind. Just listen to how people complain about their job, complain about the commute, complain about their co-workers, complain about their boss, complain about the (fill in the blank).

My message… if it is a grind for you then do something about it. Not later, right now. Today, not tomorrow. Make the decision to break free of the grind and here is where to start. Look at what you do everyday. Keep a list for a full week. Some of it is not a grind but, hopefully, done with zeal, anticipated with excitement and accomplished in expert fashion. Do more of that and less of the rest. Figure out the what first and we can talk about the how another time. Be accurate and honest as you do this.

No one gets wealthy working but rather you get wealthy, monetarily or otherwise, by doing what you do best and enjoy most. Think about it over a cup of coffee at your favorite coffee shop!

Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

When you hear the word “airline” what comes to mind first? Great experience, service oriented, pleasure, no hassle? Probably not. Well let me tell you, I just had a WOW experience with US AIRWAYS. That’s right, awesome customer service, exceptional, timely and all outside of what their normal policy is- an exception to the RULES!

Interesting, but when you make an exception to the rules it shows that someone understands and that even a big company is made up of real people just like you and me!

So here is the short version. We had plans for a trip to Mexico in May of 2009.  You might recall this was in the early stages of the dreaded swine flu hysteria. Everyone was advised to not travel to Mexico and not at all if possible, especially with infants. So, the decision was made-no trip.  The airlines understood and promoted that change fees would be waived.  We cancelled and re-booked for November.

Well as luck would have it, and those with young children know, anything can happen and usually does at the wrong time! The morning of departure our little one called for Mommy at 4am. That happens from time to time but I knew it was bad when mommy returned to the bedroom and turned the lights on. Serious but not too serious and the trip was off.

Ok, still plenty of time to use the tickets.  In case you do not know, most tickets need to  be used and travel completed within a year of the date issue. Another trip was planned but this winter was a tough flu season and the February trip also went down.

Now the fun part. Our schedule did not permit a trip before the deadline so I made the call to the airline.  A number of things impressed me and all were unexpected. First, my record in the airline computer showed all the details, trip changes, additional amounts paid each time because ticket prices changed (nothing you can do about that) and the deadline date for booking and travel completion. Second, the person on the other end of the line was very pleasant, understood the situation, understood their rules and procedure and made me feel they were on my side! Remember this point. Finally, the representative told me exactly what I needed to do and which department to send my email to.

When I ended that call I had hope, no promises but most importantly I felt good about the experience. You guessed it—my email was responded to and they gave us a full credit and another year to use the credit. They could have stayed within their policy and kept the $2,500. Instead they responded to the individual circumstance and created a raving fan. Wish us luck!

The point is… make sure you’re always creating the WOW (not OW) experience!

Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

An Academy Member writes:

“A woman and her amazing young adult children came for a consultation at the end of December. Her husband had passed away in October and she knew she needed to get her estate plan in order. It wasn’t a hurry, of course, just something she ought to take care of at some point. She passed away unexpectedly yesterday. I am heartbroken, and will be processing my “laissez-faire” attitude about letting people leave my office without making a decision. I know I can’t make people move forward, but I know more than they do about how quickly tragedy can strike any of us and have a responsibility to do whatever is possible to get them to think through the consequences of not taking care of things.”

Attorneys hate the idea of being labeled as a “pushy salesperson” in estate planning meetings, and generally want to promote the image of a sensitive counselor instead. But when do you let clients who are clearly in need of your services slide out the door with the vague promise that they’ll think it over?

We know there is a delicate dance between attorney and client in these meetings, but when is it best to really take a stand for the family’s welfare? There are no easy answers in these situations, especially in a free society, but acquiring the skill to inspire clients to do what is in their best interests can often be the difference between a brighter future for the family or a lifetime of regrets.

Jennifer Price
Director, Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com